BCCLA and Pivot Legal announce Olympic legal observer program

Vancouver, B.C. – The BC Civil Liberties Association, in partnership with the Pivot Legal Society, will be announcing a coordinated Olympic legal observer program, including training dates and locations, at a press conference tomorrow morning.

At the announcement, individuals will be modelling the Olympic Legal Observer uniform with video equipment, still cameras and notebooks in front of G.M. Place. Representatives from the BCCLA and Pivot will be present to answer questions about the program and its purposes.

The site of the press conference is near the location of the site of the Hockey Canada pavilion during the Olympic Games in 2010, as well as several homeless squats underneath the Georgia Street Viaduct. The Integrated Security Unit has announced that homeless Vancouverites will be displaced from this area during the Games.

The BCCLA will also be providing highlights at the press conference from several recent FOI requests that raise concerns about free speech both in and outside Olympic venues (full copies of the documents will be made available online following the press conference).